Okay I am not sure about you guys, but I was a big drinker before I started my journey of losing 110 lbs. Most my friendships were based around drinking at social events and I worked at a marketing firm, which often included drinking with clients. My professional and personal lives had alcohol in them and my previous attempts to lose weight got really lonely because I’d just skip those things all together.
I usually gave up on my goals when the solitude became too much, and then I’d end up starting over again a few months down the line.
We all know that alcohol is not at all conducive to losing weight. It affects your mood and can kill that positive attitude that you need to get out of bed and hit the gym come morning time LOL. It will also have an impact on the way your body functions, especially when you’re in the middle of trying to lose weight, focused on getting more toned, or just working on being happier in general.
However, people still struggle with this on of their weight loss journey. So many people feel like they can’t go out and feel that people are going to give them a hard time about not drinking, the same way I did when I was younger. Maybe it’s just me. I could just be talking to myself here. But hopefully, this also hits somebody out there who badly needs to hear this.
Like I mentioned, I had a very big alcohol-centric social group. Most of them were college friends, and drinking was pretty much our thing. Because of this, I found some cool ways that would make it easier for me to go out with other people without taking the drinking to excessive levels.
Here are some of the things that I personally did that proved to be quite effective in balancing the social and fitness worlds:
- Switching to a different alcohol. I used to be the ‘fun drinks’ sort of girl, going for those mixes that had all these alcohols, juices, and a lot of other stuff in one go. Of course, when I switched to vodka, I did not like it at all and it took me a really long time to get used to it. Although I did start out with vodka and diet coke (I had a huge obsession with Diet Coke before LOL), I eventually switched to vodka and club soda with lime. The result? Lighter alcohol and definitely less calories because I wasn’t getting anything extra from all the usual mixers. Plus it tastes stronger, so I drink it slower, so I am less likely to have one after another.
- Drinking from a can. Notice how drinking from a can (and some kinds of bottles) does not really allow anyone to see how much stuff is still in there? This makes it perfect for barbecues and other events just because no one’s going to get you to drink more beer if you have one in your hand. As long as you’re holding that can, no one is even going to notice. People only notice that you’re not drinking (and proceed to give you crap about it) when you don’t have a drink in your hand. You can take that can into the bathroom with you and fill it up with water. If you can slip away into the kitchen unattended, iced tea, or club soda works too! It’s still going to look and feel like a can filled with beer.
- Work with the bartender. Client dinners are hard, because you’re always going to end up drinking with them. It’s just the thing in a lot of business settings. So what I do is I warn the bartender in advance that when I order vodka soda, they can bring me the drink the first time. As for the succeeding drinks however, all that my glass is going to have would be club soda and lime – no vodka. Of course, I also ask them not to tell anybody. And you know what? No matter where I go, everyone is really cool about it.
- Telling people about a challenge. Another big piece of advice I usually give on the Team Beachbody coach side, is to tell people that you’re part of a challenge. Since my customers are actually in challenge groups that give out prizes and keep them accountable, it’s perfect. You don’t have to actually be in a challenge to use this reason! Tell them it’s a weight loss challenge or a fitness challenge. Whenever the thought of a challenge comes in, people immediately think about the prize that you have to win. Because nobody would really want you to lose, people usually just leave you alone, or even offer to help.
- Change your routine. People have many different triggers that give them the desire to drink afterwards. Some people, for example, feel the urge to do it when they wait in the airport or when they are in a specific restaurant. It’s just part of the routine. For me, I didn’t really plan on dinners and then going to a bar afterwards, we just usually went to the bar or party, which meant for a lot more hours of drinking. It would really help if you had an activity before going to the bar. Like going to the movies first, for instance, or a healthy dinner, etc. Afterwards, you probably won’t be as into the drinking as you previously were and you’ll be able to keep it to 1 or 2.
There are actually so many different ways for you to do this, I could go on all day, but you get the point. All these just mean that when you’re out at a social setting, you can choose to drink just a little bit, or you could choose not to participate in the drinking at all. It’s just a matter of not making a spectacle out of it. You CAN still be social.
Of course, there would be some people who can just go out there and confidently tell people, “No, I’m not going to drink.” If that’s the case, then girl, I am happy for you. It’s just that this approach did not work for me at all as I worked my way onto becoming a coach, so I had to find other ways to do it.
I do hope that this helps those who had the same problems I had. Of course, as a coach, you could always let me know if you have more specific questions about this and we can work on this together. Happy Friday!!!
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